Masjid Kampung Pulau Pisang; The Legacy of Kubang Pasu

My first entry of "Encounters" centers around a mosque located in the heart of the nation's rice bowl. Kampung Pulau Pisang is a traditional village located in the district of Kubang Pasu, Kedah, the big northern state in the west coast of Malaysia. My chance to pray in the mosque came about when my cousin was solemnized here. Being part of the entourage, I was marveled to witness the beauty of this mosque. It has been in my backyard all this while without me noticing. What captured my attention is the fusion of the old wooden structure to the new concrete building.

A brief conversation with one of the Mosque's committee revealed that during the construction, the contractor had taken every effort necessary to retain the old structure into the new building.
Later, my research on the mosque led me to the discovery that it was one of the earliest mosque to be built in Kubang Pasu, around the 1840s, by Hj Ishak bin Muhammad Hashim, the right-hand man to Tunku Anom, the ruler of the state of Kubang Pasu. The district, the, was given to Tunku Anom by the Sultan of Kedah as a sign of gratitude for his gallantry in wresting the Kedah State back from the annexation of the Siam empire.
    With the support of Tunku Anom, Haji Ishak had established a "Pondok"(religious school) in Pulau Pisang. The Pondok is still operating until today. The mosque which still goes by the name Masjid Ishaqiah still retains its basic building blocks eventhough it has gone several phases of renovations. The "Mimbar" (sermon pedestal) built of the "Remia" core wood is still in use today.